Patients, survivors, healthcare providers & community members invited to participate in June 29 event

PLEASANTON, CALIF. – Stanford Health Care–ValleyCare will join hundreds of institutions across the country in the inaugural national Cancer Moonshot Summit, convened at the request of Vice President Joe Biden, on June 29. Researchers, doctors, scientists, philanthropists, advocates, patients, survivors and community members are invited to attend the event, which will run from noon to 4:00 p.m. at ValleyCare's Regional Cancer Center in Pleasanton, California.

The goal of the Cancer Moonshot is to accelerate the rate of progress in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care over the next five years and to ultimately end cancer as we know it. Vice President Joe Biden called for the Summit, which will bring communities together to discuss how cancer affects them and collaborate on ways to push forward the Moonshot Initiative.

"At Stanford Health Care - ValleyCare, we want our cancer patients to benefit from the latest medical breakthroughs, and are committed to providing the most up-to-date and innovative cancer care for our patients," said Rishi Sawhney, MD, Cancer Program Medical Director at ValleyCare. "We are excited to host one of the many National Cancer Moonshot Summit events on June 29 and look forward to continuing our work with partners in the research, academic, philanthropic and medical community to reach the national goal of doubling the rate of progress towards ending cancer."

The Summit will be the first time stakeholders representing all types of cancers will convene under one national charge. It will include a live stream with Vice President Biden, an update on the Initiative's activities and research progress. Discussions will cover clinical trials, treatment, philanthropy and advocacy. According to Biden, community input is critical to the success of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative.

"The Moonshot cannot be achieved by one person, one organization, one discipline, or even one collective approach," Vice President Biden said. "Solving the complexities of cancer will require the formation of new alliances to defy the bounds of innovation and accelerate the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and – ultimately – a cure. It's going to require millions of Americans speaking up and contributing what they're able. That's what the Cancer Moonshot Summit is all about."

Responding to Biden's Cancer Moonshot Initiative, the Stanford Cancer Institute also recently joined in the efforts to accelerate breakthroughs in cancer care. Partnering with two of the nation's leading not-for-profit health care systems, Intermountain Healthcare and Providence Health & Services, along with Syapse, a leading precision medicine software company, the four entities announced a new consortium to advance cancer care through data sharing and increased access to clinical trials. The consortium, the Oncology Precision Network (OPN) will share, as appropriate, aggregated sequencing data through an advanced software platform, rapidly bringing the most promising treatment insights to cancer patients and physicians.

The Summit is free and open to the public. The event will take place at ValleyCare's Regional Cancer Center – VMOC Conference Room: 5725 West Las Positas Blvd. Suite 100, Pleasanton, CA 94588. Reserve your seat. For more information, contact Denise Estrada at destrada@stanfordhealthcare.org
or 925-734-3319.

In 2015, ValleyCare Health System and Stanford Health Care partnered to become Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare. ValleyCare has provided high quality, compassionate, not-for-profit health care to the Tri-Valley and surrounding communities since 1961. With a passion for excellence and the pursuit of leading-edge technology, Stanford Health Care – ValleyCare offers a wide range of health care services at its Livermore, Pleasanton and Dublin medical facilities. Visit www.valleycare.com.

About Stanford Health Care
Stanford Health Care seeks to heal humanity through science and compassion, one patient at a time, through its commitment to care, educate and discover. Stanford Health Care delivers clinical innovation across its inpatient services, specialty health centers, physician offices, virtual care offerings and health plan programs.
Stanford Health Care is part of Stanford Medicine, a leading academic health system that includes the Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children's Health, with Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Stanford Medicine is renowned for breakthroughs in treating cancer, heart disease, brain disorders and surgical and medical conditions. For more information, visit: www.stanfordhealthcare.org.